NZ Clean-Tech Company Starring on the Global Stage

New Zealand clean-tech company,
Greenlane Biogas Technologies, is again starring on the
global biogas stage with the commissioning of the world’s
biggest biomethane production plant in Montreal, Canada.
The total value of the project is estimated at NZ$50m.

This follows the commissioning of a smaller plant last
month in city of São Pedro da Aldei, in Brazil, valued at
just under NZ$10m and a first for the state of Rio de
Janerio.

After three challenging years which saw
Greenlane Biogas dip into serious financial trouble the
company is back with a clear focus on being the recognizable
global leader. According to CEO, Tenby Powell, the success
of the Montreal plant, which produces up to 16,000 m3 per
hour of biomethane gives them every reason to set that goal.

Powell, who was appointed CEO after this company, Hunter
Powell Investment Partners, invested in Greenlane Biogas in
November last year, says, “While it has been a challenging
period, it is testimony to the quality team of talented
engineers and designers that the Montréal plant is pumping
gas into the Trans-Canada grid exactly as it supposed
to”.

“This was a combined NZ/Canadian team effort with
resources being drawn from all our offices throughout the
world including tech support from Europe”.

And this
is not unfamiliar territory according to Powell. ”While
this plant is the world’s largest by 60% gas production
capacity, Greenlane had previously commissioned a plant in
Gustrow, Germany, which is now the world’s second largest
plant”.

Biogas, which consists mainly of methane, is
produced when waste from landfills, manure, crops from
agriculture and household food waste is broken down by
micro-organisms in digesters, landfills and wastewater
treatment plants. Biogas can be used for heating, power
generation or ‘upgrading’ to natural gas cooking quality
or for vehicle fuel.

To upgrade biogas to natural gas or
vehicle fuel quality, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and
other contaminants need to be separated and removed.

Initially, biogas upgrading was driven by the need for an
environmentally friendly, sustainable and economically
viable fuel which is interchangeable with natural gas. Many
of the market’s initial installations provided fuels for
natural gas vehicles.

The market is now shifting to
include systems that inject upgraded biogas - biomethane -
into existing natural gas pipeline networks.

Both the
Greenlane projects in Canada and Brazil extract and upgrade
biogas from landfills.

“Unlike gasoline, diesel and
even natural gas, upgraded biogas is a renewable energy
source drawn from naturally produced waste. The success of
projects of this type enables us to view waste as energy as
opposed to rubbish. In both these cases renewable energy
derived from a naturally occurring process within the
landfill”, says Tenby Powell.

Greenlane is a pioneer
of this thinking and the design of the biogas upgrading
plants.

Additional to these plants, we are commissioning
a number throughout the world and, earlier this year, signed
a JV relationship with a large Chinese company”, says
Powell.

“My belief is that biomethane production in
China will be bigger than the rest of the world combined.
The Chinese central government has legislated to clean up.
The opportunity is to both clean-up and upgrade – to
biomethane – and we intend to position Greenlane Biogas as
the global leader in this field”.

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